Heteronormativity in the Historical Narrative
History is a narrative of past events that interconnects the cultures, traditions and stories of various individuals and communities. It links human civilization back to a common source. However, the current flawed education system has reduced this heritage common to all of humankind to the mere ability of the memorization of a linear narrative. Due to centuries of discrimination, the inclusion of lgbtq aspects of history is quite few and far between. The result? An overwhelmingly heteronormative narrative.
Heteronormativity is the assumption that being cisgender (conforming to the binary gender assigned at birth) and heterosexual is the default; the standard for “normal”. Despite the exclusion of lgbtq from the historical narrative in most present-day school curricula, upon further research, there are so many people of varying sexual orientations that are portrayed as cishet (cisgender heterosexual) in the school curriculum. Some popular historical figures that were lgbtq include Achilles, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, King James VI & I, Selma Lagerlof, Alexander Hamilton, and Florence Nightingale. Don’t believe us? We’ll be delving into their stories in the new series on our platform. Stay tuned!
Why is this an issue?
Firstly, it alienates the lgbtq kids who may already feel that they’re abnormal and don’t fit in. This leaves a lasting impact on them, as they’re in their adolescence, where most kids start questioning themselves and actively start the never-ending journey of self-discovery. The exclusion of lgbtq related topics in the historical narrative they learn at school makes them feel as though something is wrong with them and that their gender identity or sexuality is unnatural. This may lead to suppression or rejection of themselves, presenting an additional hurdle on their journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance.
Also, it depicts an extremely inaccurate picture of social life. In a society where individuals of various gender identities and sexualities interact, the exclusion of the lgbtq community deludes people into believing that those who are “different” are rare and the chances of meeting someone who is queer is extremely low. Not only that, it perpetuates intolerance to such a deviation from the norm and may even lead to harsh consequences such as harassment or even physical violence.
Personally, despite having zero discrimination towards anyone being different, I applied the notion that anything other than cishet as abnormal to myself. This led me to deny my identity for longer than I should’ve even though I already knew the truth quite a long time ago. Even my finding out about different historical figures being queer was mostly due to various posts I’ve found via social media, and as of recent years, I’ve been lucky to have two amazing teachers who actually brought up how there is evidence that certain figures were part of the lgbtq community, albeit not openly. From there on it was mostly through my own interest and choice to read up on certain individuals.
Hopefully, this series will help others going through what I went through, and help us accept who we are.
cover picture credit to attitude's "29 LGBTQ FIGURES FROM HISTORY YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT"
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